Fan



March 31, 1942. G. E. LOFGREN FAN Filed Sept. 21, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 6 INVENTOR.

March 31, 1942.

v G. E. LOFGREN FAN Filed Sept. 21, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

'IIIIIIII' BY WWW m A 0 BY.

. the'horizontal;

' Patented 31,

Gustat EinanLofgren, Riverside,

Conn.-

. Application September 21, 1939, Serial No. zsassz 1 Claims.

My invention relates to fans and more particularly to fans of the centrifugal type.

Many of us prefer to arrangea fan to blow air directly on us. The air blowing over the surface of the skin cools by the evaporation of moisture. Fans usually areconstructed to produce a relatively high air velocity. toohigh to permit the fan to be located in close This velocity is proximity to the peison. Of course, the air velocity diminishes rapidly at increased distances from the fan. However,- when the fan is located at a sufllcient distance to reduce the air velocity so that it is not uncomfortable, the air is difiused over such a wide area as to make it impossible to keep papers and other light material from blowing around unless weighted down.

- An objectof my invention is to provide-an improved fan which may be located directly on a desk to direct a stream of air at the person using it. without disturbing any papers or the likeonthe desk.

Another object of my invention is to provide a fan producing a streamof air which is wide in a horizontal plane but narrow in a vertical plane.

A further object of my invention is to pro- Motor II is secured to the-front mu Ii by means ot'two screws II which pass through openings spect to base I 3 on a horizontal axis. A projectvide a fan oi the centrifugal type which may be readily positioned to propel a stream of air in any direction and at any angle desired.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an enclosed fan compact in construction and eflicient in operation.

What I consider to be novel and my invention may be better understood by reference to the following speciflcation and appended claims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which 1: is a front view of my improved fan;

I Fig. 2 is a sideyiew;

3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along theline3-3 orr'igi;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 's. side view similar to Fig. 2, showing the fan adjusted to direct the air at an angle to Fig.6 is a rear view;

ing portion of strap l5 passes through a slot 24 in base I! and is secured thereto by a spring 25 and a locking key as best indicated in Fig. 8.

Referring to Figs. 4 to 7, it will be'seen that housing It! is divided into a central motor chamber 26, a fan chamber 21 at one end, and a second fan chamber 28 at the opposite end. It desired, chambers 26, 21-, and 28 for housing 're spectively, the motor I4 and the two centrifugal fans 28 and 30, could be made as separate housings and secured together. Chambers 21 and 28 are in the form of scrolls. Fan elements 29 and 30 each consists of a hub 3| and a plurality or radially extending blades 32, which are prefer ably formed of a flexible material, such as rubber, leather, or fibrous materiaL-Ihe fans 29 and 30 are connected to opposite ends of a shaft 33. The air is drawn into the housing l0 through some inlet openings l2, passing over the motor l4 so'relatively small diameter for compactness.

can be obtained as determined by the'speed of rotation of the fans. The velocity of the air pro- 40 jected from the openings I I should be maintained Fig. 7' is a secfional' view taken along the line A motor I4 is mountedwithin housing III by Housing III is divided into two halves as best indicated in Fig. 3. 5-'finger means of a strap [5.

at a relatively low value so that the Ian may be located on a desk in close proximity to the person using the fan.

The direction of the projected column of air is determined by the positioning ofthe fan..

When the fan is located on an elevation above the person using it, the air may be directed downwardly by rotating the housing III in a counter-clockwise direction on a horizontal axis withrespeet to the base l3 to a position as indi cated in Fig. 5. Similarly, the air may be directed upwardly by rotating the housing III. in an opposite direction. The flexible blades 32 prevent injury even to anyone who may insert a in either of the outlet openings .I l. The

flexible blades 32 also serve to reduce the noise of operation of the fan by eliminating the transmission of noise from the motor to the air through the fan blades or of noise which originates in the fan blades by impingement of the air thereon.

The fans 29 and 30 are employed with two outlet openings ll arranged side by side in a horizontal direction to enlarge the area. of influence of the projected air column in a horizontal plane without increasing too greatly the volume of air handled by the fan. At a relatively short distance'in front of the housing I, the two columns of air projected from the exhaust openings I! merge into a single column of air in a horizontal plane. This makes it possible to obtain a stream of air which is amply wide in a horizontal plane but not so wide in a vertical direction, as to disturb any papers or other light material that may be located in the vicinity of the fan.

The fan is assembled byflrst securing the motor H with the fan elements 29 and 30 attached to the front housing half l6 bymeans of strap I5 and screws H. The switch 2| is then connected to the motor l4 and the electric cord 23. Switch 2| is secured in the rear housing half l8. Housing half I8 is secured to the front half l6 by means of screw is. The projecting end of strap I5 is inserted through the slot 24 of base l3. Spring 25 is secured over the end of strap l5 locking the housing III and base l3 together. The fan is then assembled for operation and may be positioned to direct a column of air at any point desired simply by rotating the housing It) on a vertical 'axis with the base l3 and by rotating the housing on a horizontal axis with respect to the base I3.

While my invention is illustrated and described in connection with a specific embodiment, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to any specific construction but modiflca-.

tions may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A fan including a two-part housing having an inlet opening and an outlet opening, a motor secured to one part of said housing, a switch secured to the other part of said housing, means connecting said motor to said switch, fan blades carried by said motor for producing a flow of air by centrifugal action, a base having a slot adapted to receive a projecting portion of said housing, and spring means to lock said projecting portion to said base to frictionally hold said housing in any desired position on said base.

2. A fan including a-housing having horizontally spaced outlet openings and an inlet opening, a base, a projection from said housing entering a slot in said base, spring means connected to said projection for securing said housing to said base for movement on a horizontal axisand for holding said housing in any desired position on said base, a motor mounted in said housing, and a plurality of fan elements connected to said motor and adapted to draw air through said inlet opening and project air out said outlet openings.

3. A fan including a base, a housing mounted on said base for rotation on a horizontal axis and having a plurality of horizontally spaced outlet openings and an inlet opening, a projection from said housingentering a slot in said base, spring means connected to said projection and engagingsaid base for holding said housing in a selected position-on said base, a motor mounted in said housing, and fan blades connected to opposite ends of said motor adapted to draw air in through the inlet opening and project air out through said outlet openings. 4

4. A fan including a housing formed in tw parts, a motor, a strap securing said motor to one part of said housing and having a projecting end, a switch secured to the other part of said horizontal axis.

5. A fan including a housing having a motor chamber and two fan chambers, said fan chambers having outlet openings and inlet openings communicating only with said motor chamber, said motor chamber having an air inlet opening, a motor mounted in said motor chamber on a horizontal axis, a shaft connected to said motor and extending into each of said fan chambers, fan blades secured to said shaft in each of said fan chambers, a base, a projection from said housing entering an opening in said base, and a spring engaging said projection and said base to permit movement of said housing on an axis parallel to the axis of said motor.

6. A fan including a housing having a central motor chamber and two fan chambers, said motor chamber having an air'inlet opening, said fan chambers having air inlet openings communicating only with said motor chamber and air outlet openings, a motor mounted in said motor chamber, a shaft connected to said motor extending into each of said fan chambers, a plurality of flexible fan blades secured to said shaft in each of said fan chambers, a base, a projection from said housing entering an opening in said base, and a spring engaging said projection and said base for securing said housing to said base for movement on the axis of said motor shaft.

7. A fan including a centrifugal fan element, a spiral housing surrounding said fan element having an fimperforate side wall and a discharge openingvin the enlarged end of the spiral,'a second fan element, a spiral housing surrounding said second fan element and having an imperforate side wall and a discharge opening in the enlarged end of the spiral, a motor having shaft.

extensions connected for driving said fan elements, a spiral housing surrounding said motor having an inlet opening and connected to said spiral housings surrounding said first and second fan elements, walls located within said housings separating said motor from said fan elements and having openings communicating therebetween, and-a switch secured in the enlarged end of the spiral housing surrounding said motor having an operating member extending to the exterior of said housing.

GUSTAF EINAR LOFGREN. 

